KENNY Roberts Jr finished seventh in Sunday's Malaysian MotoGP at the Sepang circuit, recovering positions in the closing stages after getting a bad start from the second row of the grid.
Riding his Banbury-built machine, which marries a Honda V5 engine to a Team Roberts chassis, the 2000 World Champion finished less than half a second ahead of Casey Stoner.
It was a strong ride, but disappointing for the local team after having qualified fourth. But the result still shows the growing strength of the independent constructor's challenge to the full factory machines.
Roberts used a modified version of the second-generation chassis which he first raced to a podium finish at the Catalunyan GP.
The Malaysian race was won by defending champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) from Loris Capirossi (Ducati) after a breathtaking battle over 21 laps of the sweeping Kuala Lumpur 5.548 km circuit.
The next MotoGP race is at Phillip Island, Australia.
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